[Lorianne]

I only know 3 people personally who have had abortions. Each regrets the decision but all still support abortion as a legal choice.

There is also a thread at Salon called: Abortion, A Chosen Loss which has over 3,000 posts from women who have had abortions. If you read the thread you'll see most of them have regrets/sadness but very few of them have changed their view on abortion as a legal choice. So it's not an either/or proposition apparently. Still it's enlightening to read their stories, hear their pain.

http://tabletalk.salon.com/webx?50@106.mYPFaZ1VC0t.2@.596c4c83">http://tabletalk.salon.com/webx?50@106.mYPFaZ1VC0t.2@.596c4c83

[valleygal]

The reason they say they regret it but support abortion rights is a defense mechanism.

Some really fascinating stories have come from the ex-abortionists who are now pro-life. Bernard Nathanson and abortion clinic director/owner Carol Everett to name two. Hear them speak before. It was pretty powerful. Nathanson co-founded NARAL so he know he's now considered a real traitor.

[Lorianne]

Ok my link didn't work

Go to
Salon.com
Table Talk
Mothers Who Think
Mother's Attic (archived discussions)
Abortion A Chosen Loss

There you will find over 3,000 posts from women who have had abortions. If we really want to be able to say what "most" women feel about abortion, we need to listen to real women who have had them. I read every post and there is a lot of regret and sadness in them.

[Darnright]

>If you read the thread you'll see most of them have regrets/sadness but very few of them have changed their view on abortion as a legal choice.

A very close friend had an abortion, and has serious regrets about the action. She feels that making abortion very hard to get, if not impossible, would, in the long run, protect the emotional well-being of future young women.

One thing to note: in the past, having a baby out of wedlock brought intense shame on a young girl and on her family. This is no longer the case. Young girls should be aggressively counciled as to what exactly they are planning. They should all be shown an ultrasound, to emphasize the life of the baby inside them.